Friends and family hold memorial for Christopher Bates

On Sunday the College of Charleston celebrated the memory of one of its students, Christopher Landis Bates. Bates was a senior at the College and a lover of Frisbee, friends and everyone. Chris passed away after facing head trauma brought on by a bike accident.

The College held a memorial on Sunday for friends and family to speak of Bates and to remind us to never forget those around you. It is clear to see how and why Bates had touched so many people throughout the campus. Speakers told many stories about Bates and what made him was so special. Bates treated his friends as family, and strangers as friends.

Bates once ran into a burning building to save a gerbil he was pet-sitting. He was not afraid to tell his friends that he loved them, something we can all take from him. Speakers asked those in attendance to remember Bates as the kind man he was and to keep him alive by treating others the best we can. This is a loss for our whole College of Charleston community,